“If it was up to us, we would never have been out here. We belong with our patients. But we also owe it to our patients, and to this community, to stand up for what we believe,” Angela Neopolitano, a 36-year registered nurse and president of the union at the hospital, said in a statement.

The company that runs the hospital locked out the unionized employees until Friday.

It claimed the temporary replacement staff was required to work for at least five days.